What it is
The capital of Cross River State, on the Calabar River near the Cameroon border. A former slave-trading and later palm-oil port, with a small colonial-era quarter on the hill above the water.
Why go
The Calabar Carnival fills December, with the main parades in the last week of the month and costume bands that rehearse for most of the year. Outside the season, the Slave History Museum at Marina Resort covers the Bight of Biafra trade from this port. Pandrillus runs a drill monkey sanctuary in the city and a second at Afi Mountain, a few hours north; drills are among the most threatened primates in Africa and this is effectively the only place to see them. Cross River National Park, further north, holds the Cross River gorilla, which almost nobody sees.
When to go
December for the carnival, booked well ahead, or November to March for everything else. Afi Mountain and the park need dry-season road conditions. Calabar is reached by air from Lagos or Abuja; the road from either is long.
Most people stay 2-3 nights.